Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien, rev. ed. (1987, reprinted 2000; also published as Tolkien), is the authorized standard biography. John Tolkien and Priscilla Tolkien, The Tolkien Family Album (1992), is a useful adjunct ; and John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (2003), are useful adjuncts to Carpenter. Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammondand Christina Scull, The J.R.R. Tolkien : Artist & Illustrator (1995, reprinted 2000), examines Tolkien’s paintings and drawings. Companion & Guide, 2 vol. (2006), provides a lengthy chronology of Tolkien’s life and works and an encyclopaedic guide to his writings and biography. Michael D.C. Drout (ed.), J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment (2007), is wide-ranging. Wayne G. Hammond, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), is a detailed guide to Tolkien’s own writings. Richard C. West, Tolkien Criticism, rev. ed. (1981); and Judith A. Johnson, J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism (1986), are the best (if now dated) guides to writings about Tolkien. Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, rev. and enlarged ed. (1978; originally published as A Guide to Middle-earth, 1971); and Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth, rev. ed. (1991), are essential useful companions to Tolkien’s central works of fiction. Douglas A. Anderson (ed.), The Annotated Hobbit, rev. and expanded ed. (2002); Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion: A Reader’s Companion (2005); and John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of the Hobbit, 2 vol. (2007), are also important for the study of Tolkien’s most popular works. Paul H. Kocher, Master of Middle-earth: The Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien (1972, reissued 2003; also published as Master of Middle-earth: The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien), although written before The Silmarillion appeared, remains one of the best basic studies of Tolkien. T.A. Shippey, The Road to Middle-earth, new ed. (1992), is an important analysis of Tolkien’s fiction, especially from a linguistic point of view.Three essay collections may also be recommended: